Type-writing machine



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` G. L. SHOLES.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE. No. 418,239. vPantemted Deo. 31,

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No. 418,239. Patented Deo. 31, 1889.

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Patented Deo. 31, 1889.

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CHRISTOPHER LATHAM SI'IOLES, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 418,239, dated December 31, 1889.

Application filed July 16, 1887.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER .LATHAM SHOLES, of Milwaukee, in thecounty of Milwaukee, and in the State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-Writing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to type-writing machines, and belongs to that class of such Inachines wherein the type are all set in motion at once to bring the desired character to the printing-point Where said character is impacted'by a suitable mechanism to produce an impression, this style of machine being contradistinct to those having the type carried singly or in pairs on separate levers that are independently actuated to produce the above result.

My invention has special reference to simplifying, cheapening, and reducing the size and Weight of the Inachine without in any way impairing the scope of its Work or the speed and efliciency of its action. To do this, I dispense entirely with key-boards composed of separate and numerous key-levers, a single lever on the right and another on the left serving every purpose of the manifoldlever system, and said singlelevers, unlike those employed where there are but one or two in amachine, having no side motion of any kind, but do their work by a single downward impact, thus affording all the advanv tage of the separate key Without its complication, size, or expense.

In carrying out my invention I employ a peculiar system of stop-rods, operated by a distinct application of the fingers, that actuates either one of the aforesaid levers, and, theproper stop being touched, the right letter will be held at the printing-point to be si ruck by the impacting mechanism.

Having set forth the general character of my invention, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a seetional side elevation of my invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same, partly broken away; Fig. 3, a rear elevation with the hammerstandard removed; Fig. 4, a partial elevation Serial No. 244|472. (No model.)

of the side opposite that shown in Fig. l; Figs. 5, G, 7, 8, 9, and lO, detail views illustrating a reciprocating type-bed piece and means for actuating the same; and Fig. `11, a modification.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents the base of my machine, and extending up from this base, at the sides thereof .and in front of its longitudinal center, are standards B, provided at their upper ends with bearings for a horizontal shaft C, that has loosely arranged thereon a polygonal shell D, and to several faces of the latter are suitably secured strips D', provided with raised letters and other necessary characters, as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The strips D may be of metal, hard rubber, or any other suitable material, and, if found desirable, the letters, dre., may-be cast integral with the shell.

`The heads a of the shell D are provide with outwardly-extended bosses a', on which are loosely arranged the. right-angular arms h of a hanger E, the latter being provided With a bend b', that tits over upon a horizontal guide-rod F, secured at its ends to the vertical standards B. Fitted to the bends of the angular arms b of the hanger E are pins or screws b2, that engage slots b3 in the outer ends of horizontal arms G, the inner ends of these arms being pivoted to the upper eX- tremity of a vertical lever G', that is fast on a longitudinal shaft l-I, that has its bearings in brackets c on the base A of the machine. The rear terminal of the shaft I-I has fast thereon a bell-crank lever I-I, that engages the bifurcated inner ends d of transverse levers I, that are ,fulcrumed tobrackets d on the baseA and connected at their outer ends with the rear extremities of curved longitudinal levers J, fast on horizontal shafts J', the latter having their bearings in the rear ends of other levers K, loosely arranged in pairs on transverse rods L, that are supported in vertical frames L on the base A, said levers K being united at their front ends by means of Y bars K', to which and the bottom of the frames L are secured the respective ends of spiral springs M, flat springs I being arranged on said base beneath the levers I.

Rigidly secured to each shaft J are two ICO arms N, and uniting the front ends of each pair of arms is a longitudinally-recessed and vertically-perforated block N', that has secured thereto a hand-plate O, having perforations therein that register with the perforations in said block, and these parts N' O l constitute a key-board.

Projecting inward from each block N' is a support or fnlcrum e, on which rests a series of longitudinal stop-rods P, having upturned outer ends P', that pass through the perfora` tions in said block and those in the plate O. The rods P are of such length that their inner ends extend through and beyond slots f in plates Q, rigidly connected to a horizontal rod lQbetween the standards B, and thus these inner ends of said rods are arranged in such a position that any one of them maybe brought in the path of the hanger E, depending from the polygonal shell above described.

Each of the rods P corresponds with a character on any one or more of the faces of the shell D, and each of the slotted plates has a stop Q2 at itsouter end, that corresponds with the most remote character on said face or faces.

Fulcrumed to a bracket g on the base A is a lever R, provided at its front end with lat-` eral projections h, arranged directly under the inner extremities of the shafts J', its rear end being pivotally connected to a link R', that in turn is pivoted to another lever R2, fulcrumed at its center to the horizontal arm S' of a right-angular standard S, projecting up from thetransverse center and rear of the base A. Pivotally connected to the front end of the arm S' of the standard S is a hammer T, united by means of alink T' to the lever R2, and a spiral spring T2 hasits ends respectively secured to said arm and hanger, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The head of the hammer T com-es directly over the axial center of the shell D, and is provided with a socket to receive a T-shaped stem j, that has a spiral springj arranged thereon, and over this stem and hammer-head is arranged a band U, of rubber or other iexible material. Loose on the shaft C is a disk V, provided with recesses 71"/ t", that are diametrically opposed to each other andadapted for engagement with a springdetent m, belonging to anarm V', that is fast on saidshaft, and extending from t-he disk a sufficient distance into the shell I) is a guide-rod V2, the latter being clearly illustrated in Figs. 6, 8, and 9.

Fast on one end of the shaft C is a camplate IN, and arranged in guides n on the adjacent standard B is a dog W', that is kept up against the cam-plate by means of a spring W2, asbest illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fulerumedl to brackets o on the base-A .Y are levers X X', that are connected by means of rods Y Y' with pins pp' at the ends of the cam-plate WV.

Instead of employing the spring-dog W', I

may provide the cam-plate W with a depending stem q and arrange the latter' between two dat springs q', secured at their lower ends in a lug q2 on the standard B, and the latter is also provided with a pin Q3, to hold said springs apart, this modification being illustrated by Fig. Il.

In thedrawingsI have purposely omitted a paper-carriage, inking mechanism, and spacer, as Vthe construction and operation of these devices are so generally well known and form no vpart of my invention.

NVhen the operator touches upon the upturned end P' of a rod P, the inner end of the Vlatter is raised up in the path of the hanger E on the type-shell D, and then by pressing down on .the adjacent keyboard the arms N are operated to actuate the shaft J', to which said arms are connected, thereby causing the levers J and I to swing` the bell-crank H toward that side of the machine corresponding to said hand-plate. This operation causes a partial rotation of the longitudinal shaft H and actuates the lever G' and arms G, the slots b3 in the arms aifording the requisite give to slide the shell D on the horizont-al shaft C until the hanger E comes in contact with the stop-rod P, that is in the meantime held up in its path. The desired character on said shell will then be in the center of the machine under the head of the hammer T. The arms N being still further depressed against the resistance of the spring M, the shaft J is brought down upon the lever R,

and this lever, through the medium of the llink R' and lever R2, linked to the hammer,

will actuate the latter and cause it to strike upon the character that has already been brought under its head,paper and ink-ribbon (not shown) being interposed between said character and hammerhead. The flexible band V on the hammer heads soften the stroke of the hammer and is kept taut bythe expansive force of the spring j' against the T-shaped stem j, and as this ban-d becomes worn it may be shifted on said hammer-head to present a new contact-surface. Then the key-board is released, the spring M, acting ony the levers K, brings the shaft EIu'p'away fro-m the lever R, the springl T2 draws the hammer T back to its normal position, and thus the lever R2 and link R' are actuated to raise said lever R to its normal position, after which the at spring I' aetuates the levers I J to bring the hand-plate back to its first position,

l and at the same time release the bell-crank IOC IIO

time, so as to readily bring to the center and cause to be struck any one of the characters that may be indicated on said plates.

One of ,the advantages of my machine lies in the fact that when a stop-rod P corresponding to the character desired is touched on the right key-board the other stop-rods to the right, if accidentally thrown up, will not affect the successful operationof the machine, as the type-shell D will stop Whenits hanger E comes in contact with the first-named key. hen Working with the left key-board, the result is the same, only that, the direction being being changed, it is the stop-rods on the leftof the one first touched that, if accidentally raised, will. not affect the successful operation of the machine. Y

The type-shell D, as shown, has eight faces, six of them being' provided with letters or other characters; but I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to this construction, for the reason that the number of faces on said shell may be increased or diminished Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Vhen the shell is in the position shown by Figs. 4 and 6, the uppermost face r has thereon the characters most frequently used, and the levers X X are operated to bring either one of the two adjacent faces r r2 of said shell into the present position of the one first named. IV hen the lever X is depressed, the cam-plate W will be actuated by means of the rod-connection Y against the resistance of t-he spring-dog W', and the fa'e r of the shell will be brought into the position normally occupied by the face r, and thus held as long as said lever is kept down, the pin p coming against the standard B to limit the movement of said shell. Then the lever X is operated,fa movement reverse to that just described takes place and the face r2 of the shell is brought uppermost. On release of either lever, the spring-dog IV or its equivalent causes a return of' the shell to its normal posit-ion.

To reverse the type-shell and thus bri-ng the faces t t t2 thereof uppermost, the detent m is disengaged from the recess 7o and said shell rotated on the shaft C until the detent automatically engages the recess 7c', diam etrically opposite the one first named.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown one face of the type-shell provided With a series of arbitrarily-selected Words with a view to facilitate Writing by the machine, said Words being arranged t-o read vertically, and each one thereof is brought to the center by the same movement as for a letter or other character and then printed by a sin gle stroke of the hammer.

Although the mechanism shown and described for actuating the type-shell and hammer is the one preferred, Yit is obvious that this mechanism may be varied to some degree to produce the same result.

Having thus fully described my invention,

and desire to secure by their outer ends passed through lthe perforations in said key-boards and theirinner ends arranged to be brought in to the path of said hanger, a hammer arranged to strike the shell, and mechanism, substantially as described, operated by a movement of said lever mechanism to actuate said shell and hammer, as set forth.

2. In a type-Writer, the combination of a reciprocative type-shell provided with a hanger, right-hand and left-hand levers, longitudinally-slotted and vertically-perforated keyboards secured to the levers and having inwardly-extended supports, a series of stoprods rested upon t-he supports and having upturned outer ends that pass through the perforated keyboards, slotted plates arranged to support the inner ends of the stop-rods below the path of said hanger, a hammenarranged to strike the shell, and a mechanism, substantially as described, actuated by -a movement of eitherlever to operate said shell and hammer, as set forth,

3. In a type-Writer, the combination of a reciprocative type-shell provided with a hangf er, longitudinally-slotted and vertically-perforated key-boards having' in Wardly-extended supports a series of stop-rods restednpon the supports and having upturned ends that pass through the perforations in said plat-es, slotted key-boards arranged to support the inner ends of the stop-rods below the path of said hanger and provided at their outer ends with a stop, a hammer arranged to strike the shell, and a mechanism, substantially as de scribed, actuated by a movement of the perforated key-boards to operate said shell and hammer, as set forth.

hammer having its head provided with a socket, a stem arranged in the socket to project therefrom, a spring arranged to exert an out-.Ward pressure on the stem, and a band of flexible material arranged on the hammerhead and stem, substantially as set forth.

5. In a type-Writer, the combination of a typeshell arranged on the shaft to have rotary adjustment independent of said shaft,a clutch mechanism, substantially as described, supported by said rock-shaft, for retaining said shell in its adjusted position with relation to said shaft, a lever mechanism, substantially as described, for rocking the shaft and shell, and spring meehanism,substan tially as described, for automatically returning said shaft and shell to their normal position on the-release of said lever mechanism, as set forth.

" 4. In a type-Writer, the combination of rock shaft, a longitudinally-reciprocative` IOO IIO

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6. In a type-Writer, the combination of a rock-shaft, a reciprocative typeshell arranged thereon, a disk loosely arranged on the shaft and having its periphery provided with recesses, a detent fast on said shaft for engagement with the recessed disk, and a rod eX- tended from lthe disk into said type-shell, substantially as set forth.

7. In a type-Writer, the combination of a horizontal shaft journaled in vertical standards, a type-shell loose on the shaft, a guiderod for the shell, a cam-plate secured to the shaft and having its ends provided with pins, longitudinal levers connected by rods to the cam-plate pins, a spring mechanism for automatically returning said cam-plate to its normal position after being operated by one of the levers, a hammer arranged to strike the type-shell, and mechanism, substantially as described, for reciprocating said shell and l actuating the hammer, as set forth.

8. In a type-Writer, the combination of a horizontal shaft journaled in Vertical standarms arranged on the journals of the shell, a

vertical lever connected at one end to thehanger-arms, a longitudinal shaft fastto the other end of the lever, a bell-crank fast on the latter shaft, and a lever mechanism for ctuiating the bell-crank, substantially as set Ort 9. In a type-Writer, the combination of ahorizontal shaft journaled in vertical standards, a type-shell loose on thc shaft, a guiderod for the shell, a hanger having angular arms arranged on the journals of the slell, a i series of stop-rods arranged to be independently brought in the path of the hanger, a i vertical lever connected at one end to the arms of said hanger, alongitudinal shaft fast to the other end of the lever, a bell-crank fast on the latter shaft, and a lever mechanism for actuating the bell-crank, substantially as set forth.

10. In a type-Writer, the combination of the base A, vertical standards B, shaft C, sliding type-shell D, hanger E, arms G, lever G', shaft H, bell-crank H', bifurcated levers I, springs I', longitudinal levers J, shafts J', levers K, united in pairs by bars K', rods L, frames L', springs M, arms N, longitudinally-slotted and vertically-perforated plates O, slotted plates Q, provided With stops Q2, stop-rods P, lever R, having lateral projections h, link R', lever R2, standard S, hammer T, link T', spring T2, disk V, having recesses la k', arm V', de-

tent m, guide-rod V2, cam-plate W, spring-dog W', rods Y Y', and levers X X', substantially as set forth. v

1l. In a type-Writer, the combination of a reciprocating type-carriage, a lever mechanism, substantially as described, for actuating the type-carriage, a-key-board carried by the lever mechanism, and a seriesl of stop-rods fulcrumed to the key-board and arranged to be individually brought into the path of said type-carriage by a touch of` the operators fingers prior to the exertion rof sufficient impulse to actuate said lever mechanism, substantially as set forth.

12. In a typewriter, the combination of a reciprocating type-carriage, a hammer mechanism, substantially as described, key-boards, mechanism, substantially as described, connecting the type-carriage, hammer mechan- P ism, and key-boards, and a series of stop-rods fulcrumed to the key-boards to be individually brought into the path of said type-earriage by a touch of the operators fingers prior to the exertion of sufficient impulse to actuate said lever mechanism.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

- C. LATHAM SHOLES. Witnesses:

MARY J. SHoLEs,

N. E. OLIPHANT. 

